Last Man
by obsessed1
Summary: Tag to Last Man. Spoliers for Season Four Finale. Shep Angst.


Title: Last Man Tag

Author: Obsessed1  
Character(s): John Sheppard and team.  
Genre(s): Stargate Atlantis: H/C -Angst  
Summary: Just a little tag to the Season Four Finale: The Last Man. Spoilers.

Sheppard continued to protest as he was marched out of the Gateroom and down the interconnecting corridors. The others, they seemed to hang back, unsure.

"I'm _not_ a clone," he said throwing an irritable look over his shoulders to his team and the marines covering him with P90's, "I know I've been gone for a while but I wasn't taken by Michael. It was a solar flare…" he paused and acknowledged Colonel Carter, "1969 ring a bell?"

Carter pursed her lips, "You went to 1969?"

"No," Sheppard sighed and slowed his pace, "I……I went into the future…..it's..it's bad."

He found his eyes drifting to Ronon and McKay.

"We need to get you checked over in the infirmary….and then we'll talk," Carter stated. She reached out to his elbow to turn him, push him on, but seemed to hesitate.

"For the last time….i'm _not_ a _clone_."

"A clone would say that of course," McKay piped up with a smug grin.

Sheppard groaned and started forward again, raising placating hands when two marines eyed him suspiciously.

"You know…..we're running out of time," he noted idly, "If Teyla….if anything happens to her…" he paused, dizzy, realising he hadn't eaten in seven hundred years or so, "…it changes everything. It's the turning point and-"

"John," Carter touched him this time, cradled his arm in hers and pointed him in the direction of the infirmary; "There are procedures. Procedures that _you_ put in place to protect Atlantis. Now, you have been gone for twelve days and in that time…..a lot could have happened. A lot that you might not remember so-"

"But I _do_ remember," he snapped pulling out of her grip and staggering away, "You died…..all of you…and you-" he pointed at McKay, "You lost twenty five years of your life trying to get me back here….to stop……"

He sagged against the wall and took in a deep breath, pushing off the hands that tried to offer stability.

Dammit! They'd all died. Teyla, Carter, Ronon, Keller and even though Rodney hadn't perished with the rest of them, he'd lost himself all the same. Dead….and where had he been? He'd come back now. The plan had been successful but before…..before Mckay changed the time-line, he must have been alone on that deserted base. What did he do? Scour the base, collapse from exhaustion and hunger…..did he try to get back? Did he-

"Maybe his organs are de-generating like…" he heard McKay say as he tried to regain control.

"Maybe…."

Maybe he'd gone out into the sandstorm….never come back. He'd have been completely alone in crippling silence. He'd always been a bit of a loner…but even that…to know that his friends were gone and-

"We should get him to Doctor Keller."

KIA. They stopped looking. They buried him. And Rodney……..

"What about the stasis pods?"

Sheppard came out of his fuge to realise he was now crouched on the floor and cradling his head. He pushed through his dizziness…had to……

"I _just_ came out of stasis," Sheppard remarked, "And I'm _not_ a clone."

He met eyes with Ronon and realised throughout their whole exchange he hadn't uttered a word.

He always knew he'd go down fighting the wraith. Not once had he thought he would die of old age.

"Come on…you believe me. Right?"

Ronon had his hand on his pulse weapon. Obviously he didn't.

"Fine," Sheppard straightened up and swallowed thickly, "Let's get this over with. The tests…everything. Just hurry up."

He took off, walking as fast as he could. As fast as his tired, malnourished brain could manage. He was aware of the others falling into step behind him, weapons trained on his back and he didn't give a damn because if having his blood tested was going to prove to them that he was 100 per cent John Sheppard then the quicker they could launch a rescue mission.

When he arrived at the infirmary he ignored the stares and made a bee-line for one of the beds, hopping up and holding out his arm before Keller had even exclaimed in surprise.

"Colonel Sheppard. It's good to see you," she said, pulling on her surgical gloves and eyeing the Marines with a confused expression, "Am I missing something?"

"No, no..it's procedure," Sheppard said, tapping his fingers on the bed, "Can we get this over with?"

Keller. Keller who hadn't quit the program and died.

"Sure."

Sheppard was beginning to flag, his muscles ached, his head pounded and he was so hungry he was convinced that his stomach had actually digested itself. And his throat…..it was sore. Probably inhaled too much sand.

"Get back onto the bed, remove your boots and we'll check you over."

Sheppard grunted and groaned but did as instructed. He pulled off his boot and tipped it upside down, raising his eyebrows when sand tipped out.

"Would you look at that?" he said to no one in particular.

Keller snatched his hand into hers, "What's this?"

Sheppard only just realised it now, but he'd scraped the skin off his knuckles. Damn Sandstorm.

"We'll have to give you a dose of antibiotics….." she noted grimly.

It was weird to be back. Weird to have been in the future. Even weirder to have been in stasis for seven hundred years and for it to be over in the blink of an eye.

When he had awakened, the McKay hologram had not been there as promised. He'd searched, tried to contact him but the stifling heat had become to much and in the end he had taken a chance. He had dialled the gate and left.

It was only after, when he re-emerged in his time that he realised that the stasis pod could have malfunctioned; he could have woken early and that his step through the gate could have been his last. It didn't bear thinking about now.

"You're dehydrated," Keller said at one point and there was a pinch to his hand.

He nodded; focusing on keeping his meagre stomach contents at bay, recognising the symptoms of sunstroke that he was going to ignore until Teyla was found.

Sheppard didn't realise that the tests were over. He'd been awake, going through the motions, his mind in turmoil at the possibility of failing. He was sat there, eyes closed, fingers pressed into the bridge of his nose when he felt something press into his hands.

He cracked one eye open and McKay was standing there, looking awkward and tired.

"Powerbar," he said in offering, "Not much but-"

Sheppard tore it open, "Thanks," and took a bite, relishing the taste he was usually indifferent to.

"You know where Teyla is?"

Sheppard nodded, continued to watch him as he chewed.

"Carson knew the location of that other base because he was…….because he wasn't…"

"I'm me," Sheppard said, "You don't believe me?"

"We're checking the databases….i was going to head back up actually and-" he paused and scrubbed a hand over his face, "We looked…….but what with-"

Sheppard swallowed the last piece of power bar and felt it lodge in his throat, "I know."

And he also knew that they would have expended most of their resources looking for Teyla and that was fine. She was the turning point. Maybe……before, when he had gone, maybe they searched for him….maybe him being gone meant they didn't look as hard for Teyla. What with their resources divided and-

"Rodney……"

McKay paused, didn't turn back.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

Sheppard sighed and didn't answer. In truth, he hoped he'd never have to know.

_The End – Well I had to write something._


End file.
